


meet me in the middle

by itsahockeynight



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 2017-2018 NHL Season, Fade to Black, Friends to Lovers, Hair Kink, I feel like I write Ovi realising [spoiler] a lot. know your strengths I guess, M/M, Misunderstandings, there’s a hairdresser nearby called ‘Fetish for Hair’ & I thought about it lots while writing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 11:30:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18520600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsahockeynight/pseuds/itsahockeynight
Summary: Nicky doesn’t cut his hair. Alex notices.





	meet me in the middle

**Author's Note:**

> \- sunshinexbomb gave me this idea, and I’m eternally grateful but also *shakes fist* I was just going to prompt it on the kink meme... then I thought about it too much and ended up writing it instead  
> \- title from Sister Golden Hair by America (rejected title lyrics: “golden hair surprise”)  
> \- there’s some “visual aids” down in the end notes, if you’re interested  
>  ~~\- I am still working on the omegaverse longfic, I promise…~~

Sasha first notices with a few weeks left in the regular season.

“Hair’s getting long.” He knocks Nicky’s shoulder with his own. “You get it cut soon?”

Nicky just shrugs, shoving said hair out of his eyes. “Was thinking I might wait a bit more.”

“You and Hags match, then.” Sasha approves. His hair looks pretty dumb long, this has been established, so _someone_ here should grow a good hockey flow. It’s a classic.

When he looks up, Nicky’s narrowing his eyes at Sasha. “O- _kay_ ,” he says, bafflingly, and goes off to talk to Carly.

_What the hell?_

* * *

After that, Nicky gets... weird. Clingy isn’t the right word, that implies that Nicky’s angling for attention when all he seems to do is just hang around more. Standing next to Sasha in line for hotel breakfast, leaning against the glass next to him at practice, that kind of thing. He’s not talking to Sasha more – okay, maybe a bit, but not a _lot_ – or hovering, he’s just... present. In the corner of Sasha’s eye, on the edge of Sasha’s conversations, acting like he’s behaving totally normal.

Maybe he is, and Sasha’s just paranoid. It’s not like he _minds_. Nicky’s one of his favorite people.

Nicky doesn’t get his hair cut. Sasha notices.

* * *

Sasha always offers to spot for guys in the gym, especially new guys who haven’t buddied up with anyone yet. This is how he ends up helping Hagelin bench press at the tail end of an optional skate, when nearly everyone else has gone home.

It’s kind of weird. He thought Nicky and Hags were friends, that Nicky would end up doing this kind of thing, but he seems to be giving Hags the cold shoulder lately.

Sasha’s considering bringing it up, since they’re alone, but Hagelin beats him to it.

“Can I ask something?”

“Sure.” Sasha tosses him a towel. “Done for today?”

“Yeah.” After that he seems to lose his nerve, so Sasha sits on the bench next to him and pokes his thigh.

“What you want to know? Got a problem with someone or something?”

“I don’t know.” Another pause. “Are we okay? Did I do something?”

“To me? No, we’re all good.” How’d he get that idea? “If I’m being an ass to you, tell me, I’ll stop.”

“It’s not you, Nicke’s been... I don’t know, thought maybe I said something and he’s offended for you. He was fine at first, but now he’s giving me the...” he squints, imitating Nicky’s glare.

Has Nicky been hanging around Sasha to avoid Hagelin? “No, if he’s mad it’s nothing to do with me.” Sasha slaps his shoulder, hopefully in a reassuring way. “He’s intense sometimes. I can talk to him if you want, make him use his words.”

Hags shakes his head. “It’s fine, I’ll be okay. Just wanted to check.”

“Sure. Change your mind, let me know.”

* * *

He pays more attention after that. Nicky’s still hanging around, catching Sasha’s eye across the aisle on the plane or leaning over his shoulder to share a menu, hair tickling Sasha’s cheek. Maybe he was wrong before, and Nicky _was_ trying to get his attention. He certainly seems pleased whenever Sasha looks back.

Nicky’s hair is getting close to as long as Sasha has ever seen it, now. It falls in his eyes and curls around his neck, honey-colored and soft. Or it looks like it’d be soft, if Sasha were to touch it. Which he wouldn’t, because he’s an adult, he doesn’t need to pull anyone’s pigtails anymore.

He certainly thinks about it a lot, for something that doesn’t concern him at all. It suits Nicky. Sasha’s not sure why he stopped growing it this long in the first place.

It finally starts to make sense after they play the Devils for the last time. While they’re taking off their pads Sasha just happens to lift his head at the right time, and _oh_.

Nicky’s sweaty hair is plastered to his neck, and Sasha has no idea why, but he can’t look away. His mouth has gone dry. How has he never noticed Nicky’s neck before, the freckles, the creases of skin he wants, suddenly, to lick?

Sasha strips down to his under-armour on autopilot, distracted by the fantasy of nuzzling into the crook of Nicky’s neck, dragging his nose through his hair and sucking the lobe of his ear. Nicky jams a cap backwards on his head as the press come in, game face back on, and it’s a tragedy, a goddamn tragedy how good that looks, his hair poking out at his forehead and the curls springing up under the peak.

Dima raps on the crown of Sasha’s head as he passes on his way to the showers. “Anyone in there?”

Sasha’s jolted back into reality and he hunches automatically, trying to obscure his boner. “Fuck off,” he shoots back a moment too late, so Dima only laughs as he vanishes.

Great. At least it doesn’t matter if all the hot water is gone by the time Sasha showers. He’s not going to need any.

* * *

Nicky puts his hair up in a haphazard little bun one day in the gym and Sasha nearly falls off his treadmill.

It’s not as if he didn’t know Nicky was hot. Nicklas Backstrom is hot, water is wet, et cetera, et cetera. But Sasha always thought he was immune, desensitized even. If you see a hot guy naked in the shower enough times in a decade, either you suck him off sometime in the first three years or you never develop an actual _attraction_.

Or, you notice something new after twelve years and realize you were very, very wrong.

Every time Sasha looks at him, he gets distracted by something – the mole on Nicky’s cheek, the way he bites his lip when he’s concentrating, how long his eyelashes are. The little smiles only Sasha seems to get, where Nicky’s mouth barely curves up but his eyes crinkle around the edges and it makes Sasha’s whole world tilt on its axis.

None of this stuff is _new_. He’s just finally paying attention.

Nicky arrives at the rink in his suit one night, hair brushed back and curls bobbing on his collar, and Sasha stares for a second too long, trying to commit it to memory. He gets caught, like he has been a few times now, but this time he holds Nicky’s gaze for a second. They’re both blushing, and Sasha has to look away eventually so he doesn’t end up smiling like a manic where everyone can see.

When he glances up Nicky’s got this goofy look on his face as he unbuttons his shirt.

They go to a new sushi place on the next off day, and Nicky hooks his chin on Sasha’s shoulder as they look at the menu. Sasha nearly drops it, he’s so surprised. He can smell Nicky’s shampoo. He could turn his head an inch and bury his face in Nicky’s hair if he wanted too. If there weren’t people around. If he dared.

Nicky’s definitely doing this on purpose.

* * *

On picture day Sasha’s one of the first players in the locker room, so he can greet everyone else as they come in. All he says to Nicky is “Hi” but Nicky _glows_ at him for what feels like five minutes. Sasha can’t stop looking at him. No one should be allowed to look that pretty with a roll of tape and a sharpie in his mouth, seriously.

Sasha fucks it up, though.

Someone asks him to come into the hallway, so he goes, doling out a few fist bumps as he goes. For variety, he ruffles Hagelin’s hair as he passes and makes some joke about Goldilocks. Nothing important.

He returns to a locker room half empty of teammates and overflowing with tension. Nicky and Hagelin are fight– no, that’s not right. Nicky’s speaking quietly, almost spitting each word out like he does when he’s furious and trying to hide it. Hagelin looks absolutely bewildered. It’s a one-sided argument.

Burky, the only other one here who speaks Swedish, is standing at his own stall with eyes darting between them like he’s at a tennis match. Sasha files that one away for later and beckons the rest of the stragglers out of the room. They’ve got shit to do.

* * *

He corners Burky in the garage after and talks him into having lunch. He maybe promises him Mexican, which Andre interprets as Chipotle when Sasha actually means proper Mexican food. But whatever, Burky’s not complaining and it’s good food.

Sasha waits for him to get halfway through his burrito before he gets down to business.

“What was Backy and Hags fighting about?” Andre immediately looks at anything but Sasha. He doesn’t think Andre will run away, but he _might_. “C’mon, I’m captain, I need to know if there’s problems.”

Andre chews and swallows. “Nicke, uh. He’s telling Hags... leave you alone.”

“What?”

“ _Nickethinksyou’reflirtingwithHagsandhe’sjealous_.” Burky shoves more food into his mouth so Sasha can’t get him to repeat himself.

Nicky thinks – what? What the fuck? Why would he think that? Why would Sasha even want to flirt with Hagelin when Nicky is right there, anyway?

“When I flirt with Hags?” Burky’s looking at the exit. He thinks he’s subtle. “Burky, you gotta tell me, or I’ll ask Djooser.”

In almost any other situation, it would be funny how scared that makes Andre look. Sasha’s never seen his eyes so wide. “You said his hair was nice. That’s all! I don’t know why he’s so upset.” He crams the last of his burrito into his mouth. “Cahignow?” Sasha waves him off and Andre nearly sprints to the door.

He didn’t say that, did he? When? Sasha stares blankly at the empty chair across from him. If he did... that was weeks ago, maybe Hagelin’s third day with the team. Just an off-hand comment.

But Nicky hasn’t cut his hair since.

No, he remembers now. Sasha complimented Hagelin’s hair, then he pretty much told Nicky he should match his hair with Hagelin’s, and _then_ Nicky started behaving weird, then he didn’t cut his hair.

Fucking hell, maybe Nicky _is_ jealous. The question is, what is Sasha going to do about it?

* * *

Once Sasha starts thinking about it, he can’t believe he never considered it before. Him and Nicky? Half the beats treat them like an old married couple already, and they’re not exactly wrong. He and Nicky work, as line-mates, co-captains, friends, because while they can’t actually read each other’s minds, they think in harmony, in complementary rhythms. They’ve learnt to talk, too, over the years.

And how many other people can consistently make Sasha laugh so hard he can’t make a sound? Who else does Nicky look at during tense moments for a second of calm, a few breaths in sync before it’s back to work?

Not to mention how at ease they are with each other in the physical sense. They’ve played together for over a decade, and hockey players are always touching. Nicky probably touches Sasha more than he touches any of their teammates put together, save maybe Andre. That means something. Maybe Sasha has been _blind_. How many times has Nicky fallen asleep on his shoulder on the plane, just this year?

If they were dating… That make Sasha pause, alone in the freezer aisle at the grocery store. If they were dating. Just thinking it makes something expand in his chest, something warm and bright. Obviously the sex would be great, but if Sasha gets to bring Nicky his morning coffee and watch him wake up, gets to help him cook dinner, gets to run his fingers through Nicky’s hair while they watch TV at night?

It could be the best idea he’s ever had. Sasha just has to work out how to talk to Nicky about it.

* * *

He still hasn’t managed it by the last road trip of the season. At that point fate intervenes, or maybe more accurately fate throws her hands up and shoves Sasha into a situation he’d be a fool not to take advantage of. He and Nicky are among the group that head to the Miami Open on their off day, and they sit next to each other the whole time, whispering together and ignoring the game entirely. It’s amazing how distracting Nicky’s thigh is when it’s pressed against Sasha’s. It’s amazing how easily Sasha’s hand keeps landing on Nicky’s arm, fingertips touching the soft skin inside his wrist.

Something’s going to happen, and if Sasha doesn’t make a move soon, Nicky just might. As interesting as that would be, Sasha’s a born competitor, and he wants to be first. He’s got this. Sort of.

Back at the hotel Sasha dawdles so that he and Nicky get their own elevator. Nicky must know what he’s angling for, because he leans against the mirrored wall and looks at Sasha through his eyelashes. He really is pretty. It’s crazy how long it’s taken Sasha to get a clue.

Sasha follows Nicky to the door of his room, heart starting to thump against his ribs. Nicky puts his hand on the door handle and turns, raising his eyebrows. His expression is so incendiary Sasha can feel his face burning up just from looking at him.

This is really happening.

Inside, Nicky closes the door and leans against it, looking up at Sasha with his mouth slightly open. He’s impossible to resist. Sasha sways in, ends up leaning over him with one arm on the door by Nicky’s head.

Nicky licks his lips.

It would be so easy just to kiss him, to follow that road wherever it goes. Instead, Sasha reaches up and tangles his fingers in Nicky’s hair.

He was right, Nicky’s hair is so soft. Sasha winds his fingers through the golden strands and pulls gently, to see what Nicky will do.

Nicky exhales shakily and tips his head back further. He looks like a, a... better than anything Sasha could dream up. An angel. Sasha’s barely keeping it together.

“You like it?”

He jerks his head and nearly bangs their noses together. Nicky’s eyes are bright and so, so green. “I – you’re crazy.” That’s not what he meant to say. Try again, Alexander. “You think you’ve got competition? When you look like this?”

For a few seconds Nicky just looks at him. Sasha feels him swallow twice before he speaks. “Made you look, though.”

“Yeah.” Sasha leans further in, until his forehead comes to rest on Nicky’s temple. “Beautiful. _Nicky_.”

Nicky hums and shifts his shoulders against the door. Fuck. _Please_. Sasha remembers the first time, in the locker room. He wants.

Sasha turns and buries his face fully in Nicky’s hair. He smells like sunscreen and mint, and Sasha could stay like this forever, but. But. Sasha noses at his ear and Nicky shivers. Thank goodness he’s as affected by this as Sasha is. He nips gently at the lobe, tugging a bit when Nicky hisses and then grabs the back of Sasha’s shirt to keep him close.

“Baby.” Sasha feels drunk. Drunk on Nicky, the heat of his skin, the rasp of his breath. He cups the base of his skull and licks down Nicky’s neck, nuzzles at the soft skin just under his collar. It’s so good. Then Nicky, oh my God, Nicky groans and yanks Sasha in, so they’re chest to chest, no air between them.

“Fuck. O– Alex.” Is he hard? Oh hell, Nicky’s hard. Because of _Sasha_. Because they –

Nicky kisses him.

It’s hungry and desperate, because it’s them, and they’ve waited long enough. Sasha somehow gets his hand on the hot skin at the small of Nicky’s back, rubs his thumb over the thin trail of hair absently as he sucks Nicky’s lower lip. They’re touching from head to toe, or it feels like it, feels like Nicky might engulf Sasha completely. His hands, his _mouth_.

When they come up for air Nicky scrapes his nails through Sasha’s hair before cupping his face with both hands, staring. He looks about as stunned as Sasha feels, flushed and wide-eyed. God, Sasha adores him.

“You’re real.” Nicky sucks in a breath, then, again, “you– you’re real.”

“Yeah,” says Sasha, and buries his face in his neck again. He doesn’t know what to do, now. Nicky’s fat thigh is still wedged between Sasha’s legs, so Sasha rocks experimentally, pushing his own thigh into Nicky’s groin.

Nicky moans and thunks his head back. His mouth is open again, lips swollen and wet. Sasha kisses him, quickly because he can’t resist, then long and deep because Nicky pulls him back as soon as they part. He’s trying to pull Sasha’s shirt over his head, but Sasha can’t take his hands (or mouth) off Nicky long enough to let him.

Finally Nicky seems to reach a point of desperation. Sasha wanted to do more than this tonight, but all the kissing distracted him. Not Nicky. When he wants something, he doesn’t forget. Nicky puts both hands on Sasha’s chest to get an inch of space between them. “I want – are you –”

“I want to suck you,” Sasha confesses, and Nicky makes this incredible noise, almost a snarl. Then he shoves Sasha away.

“ _Bed_.”

Sasha, exultant, goes.

**Author's Note:**

> \- Because I’m sure someone noticed and is wondering if I don’t know what an alternate captain is – I call Nicky Alex’s co-captain because I believe that’s how Alex sees it, and that’s how I see it, too.
> 
> Visual aids!  
> – Nicky’s hair [at the 2019 trade deadline](https://itsahockeynight.tumblr.com/post/183073850948/)  
> – Nicky’s hair [in early March](https://twitter.com/HeyJayJRogers/status/1104228486808510464)  
> – Nicky’s hair [in early April](https://twitter.com/tisahockeynight/status/1114107901231026179) and [in early April again](https://twitter.com/youripides/status/1114559456984076290)  
> – The way Ovi looked at Nicky [after the last game of the reg season,](https://twitter.com/of_elk/status/1114887884216180736) which was also an inspiration  
> – Bonus: [sweaty Nicky, circa 2017](https://itsahockeynight.tumblr.com/post/182884792389/)


End file.
